MUMBAI /PUNE: Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is likely to have the upper hand in the Cabinet portfolio distribution in Maharashtra according to sources. The portfolio distribution is likely to be announced anytime now. Some key departments are likely to go to the NCP, indicated sources based in Mumbai. Sharad Pawar had taken the initiative to bring the Congress on board for the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
The list of portfolios that NCP gets could include Finance, Home, Irrigation and Housing. Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar and 35 others including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray took oath on Monday in the first expansion of the Cabinet. Sources said there were disputes between the alliance partners over the Home Ministry and Revenue Ministry.
Sources also said there was not much clarity about whether Ajit Pawar, who was rewarded with the Deputy Chief Minister’s post is likely to get the coveted Finance Ministry or Home Ministry.
Discussions are on over the other prime portfolio - Home, for which NCP is the contender.
The key Irrigation Department may go to Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad may get Housing Development, sources added. Both the leaders are from NCP.
Congress’s former chief minister Ashok Chavan could get the Public Works Department and Balasaheb Thorat could get the Revenue Department.
Ten of the 36 MLAs who took oath on Monday belonged to the Congress.
On November 28, Uddhav Thackeray had taken oath along with six others. The list included Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut of Congress, Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai of the Shiv Sena and Jayant Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP.
Ajit Pawar, who broke ranks from his party in November to ally with the BJP and took an oath with Fadnavis in an early morning surprise ceremony, returned after failing to muster the numbers. Most of the party MLAs he counted on to accompany him, opted to stay with his uncle Sharad Pawar.
WHO MAY GET WHAT?
- There is not much clarity about whether Ajit Pawar would get the coveted Finance Ministry or Home Ministry.
- The key Irrigation Department may go to Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad may get Housing Development.
- Cong’s Ashok Chavan could get the Public Works Department & Balasaheb Thorat could get the Revenue Department.
